Tightrope walk over Ariz. gorge draws 13M viewers

Aerialist Nik Wallenda near the end of his quarter mile walk over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona on Sunday, June 23, 2013. The daredevil successfully traversed the tightrope strung 1,500 feet above the chasm near the Grand Canyon in just more than 22 minutes, pausing and crouching twice as winds whipped around him and the cable swayed. (AP Photos/Discovery Channel, Tiffany Brown)

LITTLE COLORADO RIVER GORGE, Ariz. (AP) -- Aerialist Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk over a gorge near the Grand Canyon drew nearly 13 million viewers to the live television broadcast.

The Discovery Channel said Monday that the quarter-mile stunt at the Little Colorado River Gorge was among the most highly viewed shows in the station's history.

It also prompted 1.3 million tweets Sunday, making it one of the top trending topics.

Wallenda took 22 minutes to cross the 2-inch-thick steel cable, 1,500 feet above the dry river bed. He did it without a harness or safety net.

The well-known daredevil contended with the wind and repeatedly called on God to calm the swaying cable.

He wore a microphone and two cameras, one that looked down on the river bed and one that faced straight ahead.